Ned Kelly: student movie maker gets his crowd funding budget

Ben Head, a film and TV student, with camerman Ben Thompson.Credit:Justin McManus

The student filmmaker who wants to make a Ned Kelly movie Stringybark from the police point of view has achieved his crowd funding target of $15,000 - and more.

Fairfax Media revealedyesterday how Ben Head, 19, a film and TV student at the Victorian College of the Arts, hopes to make the 30-minute pilot to show film funding organisations to gain support for a full-length movie.

He wants to retell the Kelly story, not as a heroic bushranger myth, but from the point of view of the police who were gunned down in cold blood when they were sent to arrest the outlaw at Stringybark Creek.

As the story was published, he received a rush of donations on his crowd source page, which by midday saw it reach $15,000 having started the day at just over $6000. By yesterday evening it stood at in excess of $16,000.

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His budget is rather more modest than another multimillion dollar budget called The True History of Ned Kelly starring Russell Crowe, which is currently in production.

Head said he was very grateful to all those who had made donations.

"We are very excited to be able to get on with casting and scheduling for the shoot, which will take place in September. Organisation also needs to be done to source the correct period firearms, wardrobe, props and equipment. We are very excited to be able to tell this story which is long overdue."

Ned Kelly historian Doug Morrissey, who has criticised portrayal of Kelly as some sort of ''Robin Hood character'', said it could represent a significant ''changing of the guard'' as far as Ned Kelly filmmaking was concerned.

"It is very satisfying that a young filmmaker with Ben's integrity and honesty is to tackle the Stringybark Creek story from a truly historical perspective," he said. "We have a wonderful film experience to look forward to."